Groove Development - 16/01/2018

In this lesson you will be learning a one bar groove through a series of steps. This will start with a simple 7/8 groove pattern that builds up to a level 3 or 4 pattern. There will be six separate modifications made to this start groove, each of which is slightly more difficult than the previous. It is also worth noting that each of these steps creates its own perfectly decent sounding groove. In each step a link to the original lesson of the concept applied is provided where appropriate. It would be worth sidetracking and working through these lessons if you either get stuck or don't understand a particular step.

It is very important that you can play the step you are on comfortably at a decent tempo before moving on as any parts you get stuck on are going to appear in all subsequent steps. At the end of the pack you will find the usual helpful links, suggestions for other concepts that could be applied and a set of suggested target tempos.

As an additional exercise, when you have learned the steps as shown below try taking the concepts given and applying them in a slightly different way. For example in step 2 you add ride bell accents so try applying these in different places. Continue through all steps with any changes you make and write down any ideas you particularly like the sound of.

This particular groove is a one bar pattern in 7/8 that can be applied within many different styles of music. The groove is completely linear, meaning you only ever play one part of the kit at a time.

You can also download a version of this lesson in PDF format. In this pack you also get three sets of eight bar phrases using the final groove as a basis along with audio files in MP3 format of all drum parts. This also includes a drumless version of the backing track for you to play a long to. You can purchase this by clicking the button below.